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The human brain is the most advanced pattern detector in the universe.
SynPhony is a web-based application designed to extract and display
written language patterns so that they become obvious and thus
facilitate
learning to read. The only requirement is that the language must have
an alphabetically written orthography. SynPhony can cover all the
spelling conventions in a language systematically, explicitly, and
cumulatively. It can introduce one new pattern at a time making each
pattern obvious. The application builds on previously covered patterns
so that progressively more and more of the language becomes decodable.
It can handle complex spelling systems such as English or simple ones.
<b>This program can use a lexical database typically developed for
dictionaries and turn the data into a vernacular literacy program</b>.
It can be used to produce wordlists for literacy primers or for
tutoring someone learning to read. The script which runs the webpage is
language agnostic so you can easily use this for other languages. The
methodology for the approach this website takes to teaching literacy is
called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_phonics">Synthetic
Phonics</a>; thus the name SynPhony.<br>
<br>
I'm developing SynPhony using Toolbox, CC, html, javascript, and css.
It's now at a stage where it can be tested by others. Currently the
pages use only client-side technology; a database driven web-site is
being dreamed of. One possible application for this
is the OLPC laptop for children in third-world countries. (Anyone with
contacts to people who could use it?)<br>
<br>
Adapting SynPhony to another language requires several things. An sfm
lexical database, adding an extra field (or two) for storing the words
in the
required format, and the ability to use CC for several steps. I'm in
the process of documenting the whole process. For languages with a
phonemic alphabet the process is relatively quick; for languages with
more complex spelling systems it will require more work, particularly
on the one field which contains the data for SynPhony. (To fully
analyze English took me more than a year because it has
a very <a href="http://call.canil.ca/english/englishcode1.html">complex</a>
spelling system, probably more so than most other languages.
Compare <a href="http://call.canil.ca/spanish/spanishcode1.html">Spanish</a>
and <a href="http://call.canil.ca/german/germancode1.html">German</a>).<br>
I have several web pages that demonstrate SynPhony in several
languages. The one in English works the best. The German and Greek
pages need more work on the vocabulary database, so users who know
those languages might not be entirely pleased with how they function.<br>
SynPhony prototypes to play around with: <a
href="http://call.canil.ca/english/Seq1a.html">English</a>, <a
href="http://call.canil.ca/german/GermanSeq1a.html">German</a>, <a
href="http://call.canil.ca/koine/KoineSeq1a.html">Koine Greek</a> .<br>
<h4>What SynPhony for English can do already</h4>
<ul>
<li>log a user in so that the page can track the progress of multiple
people<br>
</li>
<li>Four levels of vocabulary to choose from</li>
<li>level 1 words include definitions and sample sentences for each
word<br>
</li>
<li>Can control words by syllable length (1-3)</li>
<li>display cumulative wordlists at any time</li>
<li>sort words randomly</li>
<li>display words in various columns</li>
<li>change text size</li>
<li>create a page suitable for doing writing exercise with the
current vocabulary</li>
<li>create printable pages of vocabulary lists</li>
<li>covers about 150 spelling patterns in English<br>
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Possible applications for SynPhony</h4>
<ul>
<li>help create a primer sequence</li>
<li>create printable wordlists based on a limited number of letters</li>
<li>homeschooling</li>
<li>early reading program</li>
<li>OLPC laptop literacy application<br>
</li>
<li>public schools</li>
<li>remedial reading program</li>
</ul>
My vision for this project is: What could be done if the browser had
access to a database with rich language information in it?<br>
One possible answer is that it could become a personal literacy tutor
that keeps track of a student's language acquisition and guides them as
they learn. Functions such as extracting vocabulary, administering and
keeping track of spelling tests, finding reading material that matches
the reading ability of each particular child are just the beginning of
what I think is possible. Educational games could use this database to
extract words that are geared to a specific user's reading ability.
This could be done by developing a browser extension for Firefox that
contains a lexical database along with other tables and functions in
sqlite.<br>
<h4>Features that haven't been realized yet but are being planned (or
dreamed of)<br>
</h4>
<ul>
<li>a web-based database system</li>
<li>a Firefox extension using sqlite<br>
</li>
<li>spelling practise with current vocabulary</li>
<li>cloze exercises (fill in the missing word in a sentence)</li>
<li>story database for extracting larger text chunks that match the
reading ability of a student at any stage</li>
<li>a tool for creating decodable stories</li>
<li>mark up any text in a browser according to the reading ability of
a student learning to read</li>
<li>voice recognition for listening to a student reading</li>
<li>reading assessment to rapidly assess a student's current reading
ability</li>
<li>reporting on a student's current reading ability and progress
over time<br>
</li>
<li>the option to create a new pedagogical sequence of lessons<br>
</li>
<li>API for games to use a student's literacy knowledge base</li>
</ul>
More information about SynPhony <a
href="http://call.canil.ca/english/SynPhony2.html">here</a>. On this
page are links to more information on adapting SynPhony to other
languages as well.<br>
Any comments, questions, suggestions?<br>
<br>
Norbert Rennert<br>
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Technician</span><br>
Canada Institute of Linguistics<br>
Langley, BC V2Y 1Y1<br>
Canada<br>
tel: 604-513-2129<br>
fax: 604-513-2128
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